#king jesus

John 18:36-37 NLT 36 Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.”

37 Pilate said, “So you are a king?”

Therefore David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: "Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name. "But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding. O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own. I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you. O Lord the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you. Grant to Solomon my son a whole heart that he may keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, performing all, and that he may build the palace for which I have made provision." Then David said to all the assembly, "Bless the Lord your God." And all the assembly blessed the Lord, the God of their fathers, and bowed their heads and paid homage to the Lord and to the king. And they offered sacrifices to the Lord, and on the next day offered burnt offerings to the Lord, 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 lambs, with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. And they ate and drank before the Lord on that day with great gladness.

1 Chronicles 29:10-22 ESV

YES! YES IT IS!

Thank you so much for asking me this I love this question! And you! I love half•alive, and creature is my favorite song in the whole entire world, and now I'm going to talk about it thanks for activating my gush-over-things-I-love mode :D

I love this verse. Well, I love every single vowel in this song but that's beside the point. Just mentally insert 'I love this verse' for each paragraph here please. I love the childlike wonder in wanting to discover who we are and what our purpose is. We already have a pretty good idea, we've figured a lot out about ourselves, but there's still so much more to see and discover and come to terms with, because we are complex beings. So complex in fact, that we will never know every part of ourselves objectively, which is why which is why we need someone all-knowing and all-powerful with faith infallible, with wisdom and justice and gentleness to look inside of us and judge us for exactly who we are.

And here, from the good but still limited perspective, he simply states that he's flawed! He's worn! The world is in a fallen state, we've all been blighted by the sin in the world, that tears and wears and corrupts our souls and flesh and blurs the image of who we truly are. And because of that, he is going to trust the Artist molding him and who he is, Jesus, who is higher than us and knows us, knows what's best for us, and always has our best interests in mind. He is the creator, and we are the creation, the Creature.

Then we have the ~chorus~ (I could cry its so beautiful) I am haunted and flawed both by the fallen nature of the world and by my own flesh, and marred. And I am holy and created by God, made in glory, as He chose to create me in my mother's womb, still a configuration of cells, every bit of me, I am intentional and set apart by Him, fearfully and wonderfully made. And even though life is dark and hard, and it is guaranteed that I will face incredibly difficult challenges that would break me if not for Christ, He will lead me through the valley of the shadow of death, and while it might be dark and scary, and I'm blinded what He's doing and what's going on, I will not be blinded to Him and His glory, which are ever present and ever faithful to us.

The heart is perilous. It's selfish. It wants its own ways and whims and to choose darkness. But its been twisted to be that way by our fallen nature, since the Garden when humanity chose that path. It used to be beautiful and pure and lovely, and in a sense, it still is. There is a duality, it reflects both natures. Our hearts reflect both the perfection and loveliness of the Artist, and the danger and imperfection of humanity's fallen state. We as the Creature are torn between these two things from the Fall.

Our world is dark, and it's only getting darker. But we are called to shine the light of Christ in the darkness, to be a light in dark places when all other lights go out, and to show our relationship with God to the world boldly, since we are not ashamed of the Gospel. And the world feels that. The human heart longs for Eden, longs for peace, longs for a Creator, longs for a loving Father, for a perfect world. We are called to show that Jesus is that answer to that.

We are growing through and because of Christ, always. If you are a Christian, every breath you take should be in pursuit of becoming more like and following Him. Our flesh is naturally inclined to fight to see when it's unclear because our brains and flesh are constantly yammering for knowledge, not caring if it's good or ill. But instead God tells us to be still and to put our peace and assurance in Him instead. He's got this. Our flesh and spirit are at war with each other, the haunted and holy at odds, Jesus reaching to save us from the grasp of the Devil, and He did so by dying and rising again, and bringing new life through his ultimate sacrifice. Because of this we are a sacred note in His symphony, masterfully crafted as a part of His plan, to bring hope to others and glorify God. God took dirt and created Adam, and He's created us for His purpose as well, which we can take assurance and rest and comfort in. We also take comfort and hope in looking forward to when Jesus will return and create a new heaven and a new earth, where life will grow abundantly and death will be defeated and the time for our natures to be torn between haunted and holy will be over, and we can fully have both our soul and our new physical bodies that He will craft for us utterly at His service for our good and His glory. Jesus Christ will throw Satan into the lake of fire, crushing the Evil Prince of this world with His heel, and rule the heavens and the earth, like He already rules our hearts, and will expose both the world's and our own darkness and evil, and He will win against it, making us into new creations through Him, and we will get to walk in the light of His glory and rejoice with Him forever. We have wonder in this redemption, and in the beauty of Jesus discovering us in ways we can never discover ourselves, and there are so many mysteries in life, but all of it points back to God, through us as the creature.

You bet it does.

We don't have to suffer from the darkness in our hearts, we get to turn to the Artist for peace, and are gifted to rest in that as His creature. The darkness isn't our motivation for understanding ourselves and the world, our motivation is the peace that comes from knowing we are created by a perfect God, who, when we put our faith in Him, redeems us, and for the rest of our lives and until we die and are given new bodies, will continue to do so and make us more like Him. Understanding our hearts and the mysteries of God is an exploration with childlike wonder of who He has made us each to be, rather than just trying to understand what drives us and our emotions and moods and feelings and flaws. We get to look beyond our circumstances, we have an innate desire to know our Creator. This song has so much hope and wonder in it, acknowledging the darkness as real and present and active, while clinging to Christ through it all. We get to dive into the mysteries of life and creation, knowing that we are loved and have purpose through Him. We don't fully understand. And we will never have to. We are called to seek His face, and we can trust that the answers we seek are the ones that promise new life.

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So! Back to my bio. 'I am creation both haunted and holy' I've been created by Christ, and am a creature. I'm haunted by the fallen world and my sinful flesh. And I'm holy because I've been justified by Grace alone, through Faith alone, in Christ alone. God looked inside of this mess and made a declaration about my state. In my sin and in my flesh, I am a terrible sinner. Nothing good about my by myself. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Any time I've ever tried to do anything without Him it's turned out for the worst.

BUT GOD (probably by favorite phrase in the entire Bible) gave over all of that sin and sickness to Jesus, who through His death on the cross has redeemed it and made me righteous and holy in God's sight. Not because of something that I did, but because of what Jesus did, and God transfers us the righteousness of Jesus to us when we put our faith in Him. And being justified by faith alone does not mean I'm saved because I have faith, but rather that faith is the means that I cling to Christ. I'm saved through the grace of God. And it's in Christ alone because we can't ever become righteous by ourselves ever, even if we had the rest of our lives to, we NEED Jesus to intercede for us. We are both sinners and righteous because of Jesus, both haunted and holy, made in glory. But then when we have faith to cling to, it utterly changes our lives and our hearts, and pushes us to do good works through, for, and because of Him, from now until the end of time.

That line, 'I am creation both haunted and holy' is the entire Gospel message in a single sentence. It's masterfully written. I thank the Artist for it.

Long before there was an Earth, before there were stars, before time itself had a starting point, there was a Sovereign God. In that place, outside of time and untouched by creation, a Father and His Son were together.

At some point, the Father spoke.

“Son, I’ve been thinking about expanding My Kingdom.”

Jesus turned His attention toward Him. “What do You mean, Father?”

“I want to create something special,” the Father said. “I want something more than the perfection we currently enjoy. I want to have relationship with a created people that willingly want to spend time with Me - not because they have to. I want them to choose for themselves, and enjoy My favor when they do.”

Jesus nodded. “What does that look like?”

The Father began to describe it. He spoke of a vast creation filled with light, water, land, and life. He described a world filled with beauty and wonder. It would be prepared in detail, where everything would function in order and purpose. There would be trees that produced fruit, each carrying its own seed. There would be animals of every kind, filling the land, the sea, and the air. There would be precious stones, gold, and silver.

Then He paused before continuing. “And I will create all this so that my next creation will have everything that it needs for abundant, fruitful life. You see, everything created to this point is for one purpose - to serve mankind, that they will be Mine, and I will be theirs.”

Jesus leaned-in. These were the moments He loved most.

“They will be different,” the Father said. “They will be made in My image - creators and rulers! They will be my sons and daughters. I will give them power, authority, and dominion over everything I have created there. They won’t just exist in that world. They will rule in it, and everything in it, together with Me.”

Jesus said “So this will be an extension of our Kingdom? It’s Yours, but You’re putting them in place to be Your representatives, and to rule in the same manner that You do?

The Father smiled. “Exactly. A place where I am with them, walk with them, talk with them, and they live under My authority. But they will have the choice to do as I do, or choose their own path. And I’ll put them in a very special place there, a beautiful garden, with rivers flowing from it, and everything they’ll ever need or want. I’ll instruct them to expand that garden so it overtakes the full Earth.”

Jesus nodded and said “That sounds amazing!”

For a moment, there was nothing to question. It was complete. It was perfect.

But then the Father continued.

“But, they’ll reject Me.”

Jesus turned to look at the Father, again, but didn’t interrupt.

“They’ll choose to go their own way. They’ll believe they don’t need Me, and when they do, they won’t just make a mistake. They will step outside of the Kingdom’s protection itself.”

Jesus’ head sank as the weight of that settled in.

“And when that happens,” the Father said, “everything will break. The world will still be there, but they will no longer live in it the way it was created to function. Life will give way to death. Clarity will turn into confusion. Freedom will become captivity.”

“But there will be a way they can fix this, right?” Jesus asked.

There was a brief silence.

“Not on their own,” the Father said, “because just like the fruit trees have seeds of their kind, everything born from them will carry the same corruption that they carry as a result of their turning from me. I will give them a Law, to show them they need Me, but they won’t be able to follow it. I’ll raise up leaders that have My heart, but they’ll reject them. I’ll raise prophets, to warn them of dangers, but they’ll move ahead with their own plans anyway.”

A longer silence, then the Father spoke again.

“I can bring them back, but I’ll need Your help - if You’re willing.”

Jesus leaned forward slightly. “Of course, but how?”

“Because mankind will choose to leave My protection… it will take a Man to them back. But not a Man of the rebellious seed - one from an un-corrupted seed. Someone to exchange a sinless life for their fallen life.”

Jesus sat quietly, listening intently.

“You would go,” the Father said. “You would live as one of them, but they won’t recognize You. You would walk where they walk and feel what they feel. You would not take advantage of who You are as My Son - You will need to lay aside Your power and live fully as one of them. But You will live in full obedience to My plan to show them it’s possible.”

Jesus nodded His head.

“I’ll be with You, and I’ll send My Spirit to be with You. As long as You are obedient, He will rest on You, and demonstrate my Grace and Power through You. But, again, only as far as You can stay submitted to my lead.

“Of course, Father,” Jesus agreed.

“They’ll try to kill You, but You’ll be on a mission, and I will protect You. Your mission will be to restore them to my original plan. They will have been tormented by the accuser for all of their lives, and You will set them free through Your obedience. You’ll follow the Law they couldn’t, and You’ll show them the path to return to Me.”

Another pause.

“And when it is finished,” the Father continued, “they will reject You. They will take everything from You. They will mock You, spit on You, and You’ll feel the emotional pain. They’ll beat You, and You’ll bleed, and feel physical anguish. They’ll rip Your flesh from Your body, and finally, they’ll try to humiliate You by nailing You to a cross for everyone to see.”

“You will give up everything that is rightfully Yours so that they can have what they rejected to begin with. Your perfect life for their broken lives. Your perfect health for their sicknesses. Your riches for their poverty. Your righteousness for their sin. Your perfection for their brokenness.”

Then the Father made the purpose clear. “This is not just about rescuing them. It is about bringing them back. Back under My authority. Back into the Kingdom they were created for.”

“And this time,” He said, “You will be their King.”

Jesus did not answer immediately. It’s not because He was uncertain, but because He fully understood what had just been placed before Him. He saw the rejection. He saw the suffering. He saw the cost in its entirety.

But He also saw the people. Those who would be broken. Those who would be captive and tormented by their own decisions, and those who would be blind to the truth. Those who would never realize what was done for them, and those who would. He saw all of them before they ever existed.

And He loved them.

Finally, Jesus spoke. “If this is what it takes to bring them back, then I’ll go.”

So the decision was made, and the cost of this mission was accepted.

A final pause… and then…

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth.”

What Followed

The earth was formed exactly as it had been described. In the Garden of Eden, the Kingdom of God was fully expressed. God was present, and Man joyfully lived under His authority. Nothing was broken, everything was perfect. No sickness, no disease, no depression - only the un-surpassing Glory of creation, and the Presence of God Himself.

But man was deceived, and he chose independence. He rebelled from the Creator’s plan, and in that moment, he stepped outside of the Kingdom.

Everything that followed was the result of that separation. Death, brokenness, confusion, anxiety, depression, and captivity were not part of the original design. They were the result of the rebellion that caused them to live outside of it.

So in the fullness of time, the Son finally arrived. He didn’t come only to “forgive sin.” He came to reintroduce the Kingdom to people that were hopelessly lost, and to set the captives free. For those that would believe this, He would be their King.

The cross was not the end of the story. It was the method by which everything was restored. Through it, the exchange was made. His life for ours. His right-standing with God for our corrupted hearts. His perfection for our brokenness.

What was lost in the beginning was made available again, to everyone that would believe. The Kingdom was opened, because of God’s unfailing Love - and that of His Son. King Jesus.

John 3:16-17 says: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Romans 5:8: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Revelations 13:8: “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”

John 1:1-5: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”

Jesus wasn’t “killed,” He willingly laid down His life to give us a pathway to return to His perfect Kingdom.

Before anything was created, He knew the cost - and He said yes. Not because He had to, but because He loves you. The Kingdom that was lost has been opened again.

Will you step back into it?

You don’t need a pastor, priest, or anyone else to lead you in prayer. You can surrender to Him right now, right where you are.

Romans 10:9: “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Isaiah 61:1-2(a) : “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captive, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,

If you invited Him in today, find a bible-teaching church and fellowship of believers to grow with! According to Luke 15:7, “I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.”

I got to listen to the latest collab between Tommee Profitt and Phil Wickham for an Easter album from Tommee and ho-ly moly! If you're familiar with the old hymn "He Arose", you've never heard it like this!

I definitely recommend you take a few minutes to listen.

And you know, this got me to thinking. Sometimes - and I'm guilty of this too - sometimes we take Jesus' gentleness and kindness towards us and make that the entirety of His personality and leave it at that.

Sometimes I think we forget how mighty Jesus actually is because we read about Jesus telling stories and spending time with His friends and letting kids approach Him and spend time with Him. We read about Jesus having compassion and not raising a fist except to flip tables and reprimand for turning the Temple into a "den of thieves" and that's it.

I think we sometimes mistake Jesus' temperament in the New Testament to equate to...weakness. Or maybe it's just me, I dunno. My brain can't figure out God, and honestly that's a really good thing.

But here's the thing. Jesus, our King, is not a weak king. He is not a passive king. He is gentle and compassionate and totally approachable and loving and kind. But He is not weak.

Jesus is a mighty warrior King.

What's ironic about this is that is exactly what the Israelites wanted Him to be when He came here the first time. He is that, but reflecting that part of Him when He was here the first time was not the mission. It will be the next time He comes though.

Anyway, look at Ephesians 6! Look at the armor we're called to wear! It's not our armor, that's God's. That's Jesus's armor. As His Image Bearers, we are also His Armor Bearers too.

Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. - Ephesians 6:13-17 NLT, emphasis mine

And if you look in Isaiah 59, we see that this very armor is what God puts on Himself.

He was amazed to see that no one intervened to help the oppressed. So He Himself stepped in to save them with His strong arm, and His justice sustained Him. He put on righteousness as His body armor and placed the helmet of salvation on His head. He clothed himself with a robe of vengeance and wrapped Himself in a cloak of divine passion. - Isaiah 59:16-17 NLT, emphasis mine

He Himself stepped in to save them. Jesus Himself stepped in to rescue us, and His triumph over His enemies is one of a mighty warrior King.

What other God would do that for any one of us?

What do you need rescue from today? Your sins? Our King can do that. Your circumstances? Our King can do that. Your past? Your perceived future? Your fears? Your disappointments? Your anger? Your addictions? Your mind? Your heart? Your attitude? Your [fill in the blank]?

Jesus can save you from those things.

He will not force His rescue on you. We do have the free will to choose if we want Him to step in and save us or not. But spoiler alert? You can't save yourself. The only one who can? Jesus. All you have to do is ask Him, and He Himself - our mighty warrior King who has defeated death and darkness and sin - will step in to save you.